Our Princess
by Eternal-Explosionist
Summary: She was the Akatsuki Princess. She brought so much happiness with her. But after a battle, things take a turn for the worst. I could only stand on the sidelines as someone else held her heart... Deidara OC Kisame (Revamped!)
1. Chapter 1

_**Our Princess**_

My sword was yards away, completely useless. My chakra was deplenished, _I _was useless. Me, Kisame Hoshigaki of the Mist. Useless. Body pulsating with pain, energy fading fast, and hell, everything hurt. My body gave a shudder, a heaving cough strong enough to shake my shoulders. Blood dripped to the ground.

"Dammit…" I winced once the word left my mouth. Even whispering caused too much pain. The gaping hole in my stomach was bleeding profusely, staining the wet ground around me scarlet. Well that couldn't be a good sign. I just needed a minute to gather myself so I could shake this off. A low growl sounded within my throat as continued to think about how bloody stupid I had been to get this hurt.

I wouldn't be this injured if I was just thinking properly. No, I had just to jump in the way without consulting any other option. There were dozens of other options I could have relied on. Far range jutsu, or even a well timed short range to knock the Kyuubi aside. Instead, I ran in like fool and was taken down like one. Now look where I am, in a crumpled heap, absolutely worthless. Heck, her expression was still embedded in my mind's eye.

Her. The reason I threw logic out the window. Ryuki.

Her warm brown irises had been wide with shock and horror. Her short tresses free from their pin, falling into her face. Her mouth was dropped and a cry of protest came from her lips. My name in the form of a strangled scream.

_ "Kisame!" _Her form vanished once the kyuubi kicked me into the background of our battlefield. Kicked me aside like I was nothing more then a Kirigakure Genin.

I shuddered as another wave of pain coursed through my body, entire form shaking under the stress. I've never felt this kind of pain before, at least not from one solid hit. Damn that Kyuubi and it's chakra, the strength even overtook my own immense power.

"Kisame!"

I flinched once I heard my name echo throughout the dense forest. I could hear footsteps, moving quickly about so to cut through the tall grass. Running.

"Kisame, where are you?!" She was breathing hard. Was she injured as well?

Her voice…yes, it was her voice calling for me. Ryuki. I struggled to push myself to somewhat of a sitting position, but I failed miserably and simply landed face down on the damp ground, extremities quaking with weakness as the prior adrenaline rush faded from my system. Damn it all! I need to respond to her! I need to let her know that I'm alive!

"Kisame, please!" She paused to cough harshly, voice catching. "Kisame Hoshigaki, you answer me right now!"

Her voice was shaking now, was she crying? My gaze lingered on the ground for a moment, was I making her cry? My heart tightened unpleasantly at that thought.

"R…Ryuki…" My attempt was interrupted as I coughed up another wave of blood due to trying to speak. How I loathe being weak. I forced myself to sit up further, teeth grinding in order to keep from crying out in pain. I was going to be heard, body be damned!

"Ryuki…!" I spoke again, a little louder, while pushing myself up higher. I was gaining volume now, and I was balancing on one knee now with the other foot prepped upright. Good, just a little further and I'd be standing.

"Ryuki!"

The crunching of shoes meeting the uneven ground caught my attention, someone was quickly moving through the unmanaged grass of the forest. I looked to my left and saw Ryuki running toward me. Hair wild from the wind, a copper mess, and her Akatsuki cloak was open, the garment torn at different areas. Battle worn.

"Kisame! You're alive!" she cheered as she came to a stumbling halt in front of me, her hair flying around her pale face due to her less than graceful stop. She gasped for breath as she looked me over, she was injured as well. My jaw tightened as I took quick inventory of her own injuries. Multiple lacerations, a bruise was quickly forming on the left side of her face, while her shoulder and leg were bleeding pretty badly, thus her slight limp.

Just because I couldn't stop and think for a moment. Now we're both hurt.

"Kisame, we need to get you back to Kakuzu, so he can heal you. You can't stay out here for much longer," she stated as she placed her hands gently at my wound, barely grazing so not to hurt me. Green chakra flickered for a moment, trying to establish a type of patch so that I could last until we reached Kakuzu. Was I truly so hurt? I couldn't tell anymore, it had become a singular mass of pain. If she was suggesting that the financial miser heal me, then she must be worse off than from what I can tell. She's primarily our medic, second to Kakuzu obviously but most preferred.

"Ryuki…" I whispered, noticing the blood that dripped from her shoulder wound, the severity more than I had assumed. She moved my arm around her shoulders and started to slowly walk, disregarding my concerned tone. Did she honestly think I didn't see her flinch? Her bad shoulder was supporting me, but she was putting her own pain on hold for my sake.

"If we keep going at this speed we'll reach the others before sundown," she chatted. She was doing her best to distract us from our pain by talking. I looked at her and noticed that Samehada was strapped to her back, and then I noted that her hands were cut and bleeding. Again, how had I missed it? My prized weapon was hazardously strapped to her back, much too large for her size, cumbersome. No wonder she was exhausted from running about, carrying all of that extra weight.

"You tried to carry Samehada?" I asked confused. She knows full well that no one but I can carry it. The sword literally fights anyone who isn't the owner, tearing their hands to shreds. She looked up at me and smiled simply, as if her hands didn't feel like they were on fire with red hot pain.

"Of course! You would never leave your sword behind, so I thought I could just pick it up for you. As a way to thank you, for saving me again. I owe you." She cast her eyes downward, and looked very ashamed, smiling fading. Guilty. I knew that look.

"You owe me nothing," I told her with a sigh. She always felt bad when someone helped her, she felt as if she wasn't good enough to do it herself. Being the slightest build member aside from Sasori who was an overly enhanced puppet, she was often at a disadvantage. Her strongest ability being her talent for healing, quick reactions, and defending, not so much an offensive player.

Her chocolate brown eyes looked up at me and I could feel my face grow warm under her focus. She always had that ability. One intense look and I was done for, quietly under her command.

"But Kisame, you—" she started. I promptly cut her off.

"I did it because I wanted to," I told her, proudly not allowing the pain to show on my face. "I couldn't stand by and do nothing to aid you."

A moment passed and she didn't respond. Concerned, I returned my gaze to her to see tears pooling over her cheeks. Panic struck me, almost distracting me from the roaring pain.

"No crying! Don't tell me you're crying! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!" I said in a rush, my words tripping over each other in a hurry to be spoken all at once. I can't take it when she cries, it's so pathetic in that kicked-puppy-kind of way. She blinked owlishly at me for a moment, tears slowing. Finally, she lifted her head up and started to laugh. I simply stared at her confused, why was she laughing? Did I say something funny? Well as long as she wasn't crying. Sheesh.

"You're so cute when you try to act tough!" she laughed. I just stared at her, watching her light pink lips part in a grin, allowing the light laughter to pass. Her dark lashes outlined her warm colored hues. She stopped laughing due to my silence. Her eyes looked up at me and I simply kept staring, unmoving. Why was I so captivated by her? This little medic girl with her heart that was far too big and kind for our line of work.

Her voice, the softness and caring tones. Her gestures, kind and sincere. Her eyes, always honest and compassionate. Everything about her makes me want to be with her. I wanted to spend every moment with her.

My hand reached down to her face and gently grazed her cheek, large blue hand massive next to her. Her eyes widened, embarrassed by the contact as color flushed her cheeks.

"K-Kisame…?" she whispered, unsure. I lowered my face toward hers slowly, taking my time to enjoy our proximity. This was my moment, my opportunity.

"And you're so cute when you're flustered…"I whispered, a smirk stretching across me face.

"K-Kisame…" she stuttered, her body shaking slightly. I couldn't tell if she tried to pull away, her flicker of strength not worth noting.

"Ryuki," I simply said her name again, just for the sake of saying it. There was a gasp from her and our mouths fit together in unison. The softness. The warmth. My every nerve was alight with electricity.

I wrapped my arms around her neck and waist, while pulling her closer to my form. I would wager her feet weren't even touching the ground. Nothing else mattered in this moment. The Kyuubi, the tailed beasts, the other Akatsuki members. None of it. It was just me and Ryuki. Right here. Together. I wanted this feeling of warmth to last forever, but it was Ryuki who pulled away gently and her breath caressed my cheek softly as she turned her head ever so slightly to the side.

"You know I can't…" she explained, her voice quiet. "The others have sensed us as well..."

"Oh yeah…the others…" I mumbled, regaining my senses. We continued to slowly walk to the others with Ryuki during her best to support my weight and Samehada. Deidara was the first to spot us, of course, immediately rushing over to see if Ryuki was hurt. Tobi, the latest recruit, followed the blonde energentically, eager to help me.

"What took you so long, yeah?" Deidara asked while coming to help move me. Tobi volunteered to take the majority of my weight, relieving Ryuki of the pressure. The artist returned his focus to the girl, turning her face to the side carefully, fingers at her jaw as his blue eyes took in everything, narrowing at her injuries.

"What happened?" I heard him ask her quietly. She gave a shrug and a smile, hand covering his own.

"It was a fight. I got hit. I'm all right, Deidara," she reassured him. We started to head closer to the group, Ryuki and Deidara's hands slowly parting.

"Report," commanded my partner, Itachi Uchiha. His eyes studied me for a moment before moving to the medic to hear what she had to say. A whole moment, that was Itachi's version of concerned and I smirked at him. He was odd, but hey, we were partners. We knew how each other worked. Sometimes.

"We had a run in with the Kyuubi, but we should really focus on Kisame's wounds at the moment," informed Ryuki. Some of the others actually noticed the big gaping hole in my stomach and called Kakuzu over, he had just finished up rounding up everyone, confirming our numbers. None of us were dead, that was a good sign. Too bad for Konoha.

The thread nin took a moment to asses my damage, running his own diagnostics "We need to get to our base so I can heal this properly," he stated. "Who has the largest chakra amount now?"

"That'd be me," sighed Hidan as he stepped forward to teleport us to our base. He flicked open the teleportation scroll. "Man, I'm going to seriously feel this one tomorrow." His hands became a blur of katas and his palms slammed against the scroll. We were gone.

* * *

I winced as I took a deep breath. Breathing too deeply, expanding my chest cavity too far still hurt. _Man this hurts…_I concluded mentally. How I hated hurting, and being on bed rest, especially simultaneously. I would much rather be outside training, or moving, or sleeping, or doing anything that wasn't being trapped in this bed fully awake.

A knock on my door brought me to reality and my voice traveled well enough, resembling a deep rumble over anything. "Come in."

The door opened far enough for Ryuki to peak her copper red head in. I smirked, knowing full well that it was her at the door, without the aid of chakra to sense. No one else had the decency to knock as they would much rather barge in unannounced. She looked at me and smiled in approval.

"Good, you're resting! I'd have to tie you to the bed if you were training or something," she joked as she sat on the side of my bed with a first aid box in her lap. Her hair was pushed back away from her face today, fresh from her shower. I could still smell the shampoo she used.

"You've done that before remember? At least to Deidara," I reminded, while grinning slightly at the memory.

The artist had been badly hurt after a battle and instead of staying on bed rest like good shinobi, like myself, he decided that it would be a good idea to go train. When Ryuki found out what he was doing, the guy was in big trouble. She promptly made her way outside, stomping her little feet so to be heard and chewed out the blonde from an intimidating distance, shaking her finger at him like a disappointed mother. Of course, he argued, because he's Deidara, and Ryuki suddenly stopped her fussing, expression falling into a short of calm. Any man would know that was his sign that he was in trouble, but Deidara was caught off guard when this little medic bent his arm behind his back, grabbed the collar of his shirt tightly and marched him right back up to his room, where she proceed to tie his wrists to the headboard. Officially on bed rest. To make matters even worse, or better if you were watching like I was, she did not release him from his imprisonment until he was one hundred percent healed. No matter his pleading and promising to be good, her will was not to be bent.

"Oh well, it was effective!" she chirped, "Now it's time to change your own bandages."

She reached toward my bandages that adorned my stomach and I grasped her hand softly and brought the back of her hand to my lips. I could feel her stiffen at the contact but she did not jerk away. Not that it was in her nature to do so anyway.

"You're always so professional," I murmured while kissing the back of her hand softly. She carefully pulled her hand away and opened the white box and pulled out a roll of white bandages. So short lived, the contact. I knew I was grasping at straws for a chance with her, but I couldn't resist fighting for her attention. It drove me crazy.

"Now hold still, it may hurt," she warned as she began to peel away the old bandages from my wound. I flinched in discomfort as they were pulled away and I had to bite back a hiss as the fresh air stung the wound.

"It'll be all right, just give me a moment," she reassured quietly, sensing my distress.

I stiffened as her arms came around me, her skin occasionally brushing against my own, which would cause my breathing to hitch in my throat. Her body was so close to mine, all I would have to do would be to flex my arms and she would within my grasp. She manuavered herself closer to me, in order to tightened the bandages, fitting snugly against me. Her short hair brushed against my shoulder and I had to control myself from embracing her tightly and freely inhaling her sweet scent. Her hands worked efficiently, securing each length of the dressing to make sure that I didn't fall apart.

I forced my thoughts away, distracting myself by studying her hair. It was the copper red like Sasori's, short cut and often ruffled and wavy from her running her hands through it all day. I remembered when it was worn in a long braid down her back. Then there was a mission that involved Sasori entering enemy territory for an underground scheme. But it was at a bad time, if I recall correctly. Sasori was busy over in Takigakure and couldn't make the appointment in Kiri. It was a very delicate process that we couldn't just rearrange either. After hours of debating, arguing and writing up and scribbling out plans, Ryuki volunteered to go in Sasori's place. Obviously it wouldn't work, she was not Sasori, and second, she was a girl. Her defense was that as his sister, she was more Sasori than the rest of us, and with a little wrapping and deception, what would they know? They never met the actual Sasori outside his puppets. It was perfect.

When Leader agreed, she took the kunai and cut off her beautiful hair. I remember asking her about it soon after and she smiled at me. _"Don't worry, it'll just grow back. Plus, I think I kind of like it! What do you think, Kisame? Not too boyish?"_

"Ryuki..." I mumbled. She packed up her supplies, double checked her work, fingers grazing the bandages so to make sure they were secure. They were, as I couldn't feel her touch beneath them. Damn.

"Sorrry, Kisame, I'd love to stay and chat but I need to go talk to Kakuzu," she told me with her usual grin decorating her face. I returned with a smirk as she made her way out of my room and sighed.

Why couldn't she just be mine?

* * *

I limped out of my room one early evening to see Deidara pacing in the living room. He was constantly checking the window and he was rather pale. I recognized the behavior as strange. If the blonde was ever fidgety, he would just go train, blow off some steam, or rather, blow something up.

"What's wrong Deidara?" I asked, concerned. Why did he look so worried?

"She hasn't come back yet…" he mumbled while messing with his clay. He made a small bird and then crushed it a moment later. He repeated the action.

"She?" A light bulb went off in my head. "Oh, did Ryuki go gather supplies?" I asked while gingerly sitting on a chair. My body still hurt, but I was relieved from bed rest by medic Ryuki. He nodded, his gaze still glued to the window.

"Yeah, four hours ago…" I gave a shrug. That timeline wasn't so bad. The village where we gather supplies was a walk aways and Ryuki was always distracted by the little shops and the trinkets they sold. She would stop to admire the little gadgets, sometimes unaware of her own habits.

"Well, she could've been distracted by a sale or something" I reasoned, trying to calm the explosionist down.

"Yeah…" he mumbled, I don't think he even heard me really. He positioned himself directly in front of the front window, desperately scanning the area, the horizon, anything. Searching for the first sign of her.

I mentally sighed. Everyone knew that Deidara liked Ryuki, and that she liked him back. Of course, no one asks if the shark guy if he likes the Akatsuki Princess—Hidan had dubbed her that, rather fitting no matter how often she denied it- of course not. I simply watched Deidara watch the horizon thinking about how he was so lucky. He got to be near her freely, got to breathe in her addictive scent. He could flirt with her openly, tease her relentlessly, and kiss her whenever he pleased. I growled slightly at the image of Deidara hugging her and nuzzling his face in her neck, and her smiling and blushing face while he did so. The fact that they looked so happy together in my head and in reality made me want to go shred something with Samehada.

Speaking of that, I think her hands were still bandaged from the Kyuubi fight. Was she using chakra to heal herself? If not, why wasn't she? I'd check when she got back, I decided. For now, I had to sit and stew in my envy.

Deidara was so lucky to have her, while I am stuck being on the sideline and nothing more than a spectator to their good fortune. _Damn all my luck_, I cursed mentally. Damn it all.

* * *

It was dark and late now, the sun long gone and Deidara was still rooted at the window, still staring at the same scenery. I looked up from my dinner, which was instant ramen seeing as Ryuki wasn't here to make a decent meal. Where was she? No amount of distracting whirling trinkets would keep her this long. She knew better. She hated to make anyone worry and she was sure to be quick and finish her journey of whatever kind in a timely manner.

"You should eat something Deidara," commented Sasori from the couch, while reading his book. He didn't look very concerned about his sister's location, but perhaps that was just his skill at keeping everything beneath the surface. He could be really worried and I just wouldn't even know and I have Itachi for a partner. King of No Emotions.

"Not hungry, yeah…" he mumbled while not tearing his gaze away from the window. The fainest flicker must have caught his eye because he suddenly sprinted out of the base and out into the dark.

_"RYUKI!" _I heard him yell her name, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. An awful sound filled with unbridled emotion.

"Dammit, somebody get Kakuzu!"

The door was kicked open again and Deidara stood in the doorway with Ryuki's limp form in his arms. Blood was dripping drastically from her body and her eyes were closed while crimson liquid stained her. Senbon needles and kunais stuck out from her arms, legs, and back.

She was attacked.

* * *

Three hours later

* * *

Everybody in the infirmary was radiating with anger. Someone had dared to harm the Akatsuki Princess, they were sure to die a painful death, so we all swore. Of course they would attack her, sh was technically the weakest link out of us, the prime target. Hidan was verbally stating his anger, quite colorfully by the way, and how he was going to slowly rip their skin from their limbs and offer them to his god. Ryuki had been the one who would freak out whenever he would commit the self inflicted wounds in order to please Jashin, and she would always have a first aid kit at the ready. Against his protest she would heal him. No matter what.

_ "Please stop doing this to yourself, Hidan!"_

_ "Don't tell me what I can't do! It's my fucking religion, and I am Jashin's priest!"_

_ "At least let me heal you!"_

_ "Wait-what? Heal me? Even though you know I'm just going to do this again? Seriously?"_

_ "Let's make a deal. If you continue to harm yourself, which I'm certain you will, I get to restore you. I won't let you stay hurt, Hidan."_

_ "Heh, you're gonna have your work cut out for you, princess."_

_ "And please stop calling me that. It's embarrassing._

_ "No can do, doll face."_

Itachi was giving off murderous vibes, he was usually a calm, even tempered person—if you could believe- but now he was pissed. At least pissed off in the Uchiha sense, the silent but deadly chakra waves radiating. Ryuki was always so kind to him, even though she knew about the mass murder crime of his clan, but she had treated him like she would a friend. Unbiased. If you didn't know Itachi like I did, you probably wouldn't know how much he appreciated that. He would relax a bit, some of that edge leaving his shoulders. He never said much and Ryuki was happy to supply most of the conversation as long as the Uchiha would let her.

Kakuzu was also fuming, temper flaring at those who dared to peek past the door and ask questions. The miser liked Ryuki well enough, taking her on as his medical understudy of sorts. The pair spent a fair amount of time together in their field of work. He would teach her how to deal with the extremes of us Akatsuki and our odd abilities and physical differences. I like to believe that she taught him a bit of compassionate when dealing with the patients. His extra pauses of silences could be reflective of that thought, in the sense that he was being nice by saying nothing at all, rather than really telling us how stupid we were for getting hurt. Of course, once she was out of earshot, he would tell us off. Oh well, it was a work in progress. He was quiet as he worked in the medical bay, no noises reaching past the doors to us waiting on the other side.

Zetsu was mumbling angrily to himself, his white side and black side arguing on how to kill the attacker. Ryuki had been the only one who had appreciated his carnivorous plants, she would always comment on how they were so unique and cool. Although she was startled by him time and again, she always did her best to overcome the general fear and treat him like everyone else. Even though more times than not, he would turn down her invitations, the fact that she thought about and considered him was more than enough.

Tobi was doing his best to console the dual personalities, trembling himself as well. This kid who hadn't even earned his Akatsuki cloak yet was determined to hang around and make himself known with his overly bubbly personality and energy that seemed to never end. He and Ryuki got along rather well, she being the best one to put up with his antics with good humor. The two had a type of comrade-in-arms, being the newest members of our group.

Sasori was beyond pissed. I may have failed to state this bluntly before, but Ryuki is Sasori's younger sister. He had himself taken away from Suna, in order to hide himself from her memories and hoping that she would forget about him with enough time, but it was too late. She had remembered him and spent all of her time trying to find him, succeeding in the end. Determined to be reunited with her brother.

_ "We're family, Sasori! And I am never going to forget you! I can promise you that!"_

Then there's Deidara. He was just sitting in a chair closest to the door, simply staring at the ground, his noticeable eye blank. Ryuki…she had filled that empty hole in all of our hearts, but Deidara the most. Ever since the first day, Deidara had been taken by her. She intrigued him, being the newest member before Tobi. His first encounter was rather funny if I recall.

_"So, you're the new girl, yeah?" Deidara asked the new Akatsuki member. He was taller than her and he used the advantage to his gain, standing close to impose. She looked up at him and replied softly,_

_ "Yes, I'm Ryuki." He placed his hand on her shoulder and lowered his face to hers. Wide brown met blue, their noses almost touching but she didn't pull away from him. Maybe she was shocked by the forward gesture?_

_ "You're cute, yeah," he whispered, smirking as her face turned red._

_ "U-um…t-thanks..I g-guess…" she stuttered while tucking a strand of copper hair behind her ear, braid falling from her shoulder so to lay on her back._

_ "I'm Deidara, un," he introduced while chuckling at her still red face. Despite the blush, she gave a honest smile._

_ "It's nice to meet you—"_

_ "Ryuki, have you finished unpacking?" asked Sasori, as he wasn't in his puppet within the safety of the hideout, while walking down the hallway where Deidara and Ryuki stood. He seemed to still and the study their intimate distance, cool brown eyes daring to show annoyance._

_ "Yes, nii-san, I've finished—"_

_ "Wait, 'nii-san'?!" yelped Deidara while still being very close to Sasori's sister. The danger of their distance was becoming apparent now._

_ "Yes, Deidara, Ryuki is my younger sister," replied Sasori, his eyes narrowing once he saw how close he was to Ryuki and how he was not backing away._

_ "Why are you so close to Ryuki, Deidara? Something you should tell me?" growled Sasori, his glare increasing as he stepped forward. A warning._

_ "N-nothing, Sasori-danna! I was just –" He was interrupted by Ryuki's yelp and she jumped away, running into me, seeing as I just entered the hall in time to witness most of the event._

_ "I-it licked me!" she yelped while hiding behind me, clutching the back of my cloak. I raised a brow and smirked at the blonde, the mouth on his palm sticking out its tongue, guilty._

_ "Deidara…" growled Sasori while advancing toward his partner._

_ "It wasn't my fault, yeah…" explained Deidara while backing away slowly. The glare wasn't leaving Sasori's face so Deidara decided to run away, high tailing it out of the immediate area._

_ "Sorry about that, Kisame," she said while stepping out from behind me. She gave the back of my cloak a quick pat, so to smooth out where she had gripped it too tightly. I could feel my face heat up for the first time._

_ "No problem…" I muttered while looking away._

The red light above the infirmary faded and we all got to our feet and walked into the room, finally allowed in and Deidara was at the front. I walked into the white room last so to stand at the back, but still being able to see above everybody with my impressive height.

She was laying on the emergency table, her brown eyes closed, copper hair pushed away from her face, having lost its luster and life. Deidara wrapped his hand around hers and gave it a squeeze. I could see that she could not return the gesture.

"R-Ryuki…" he choked. "Not you..."

Our Ryuki was gone.

* * *

That was one month ago…

* * *

Now I stood before her grave, her laughter and smile a fleeting memory in my mind. Her grave was in a secluded area, near the hideout, that way she could always be near us. Deidara visited everyday to sit diligently by her side. We've had to literally pull him away so he could eat, and Tobi was pretty good about keeping an eye on him. Then I would visit every night.

I sat before her tombstone and allowed some tears to pass. A few drops would roll, not many. I was more stable than Deidara. I've witness the man sob when he thought no one was around to look. Heartache looks different on everyone, I suppose.

The Akatsuki was a wreck without her. Sasori was killed by some pink haired brat. Deidara became mute and he hardly eats. Kakuzu's dead and Hidan's decapitated. Itachi returned to being an anti-social ass, and then there's me. I try to act normal, but it goes unnoticed. We were being worn to threads.

"Of all people, why was it you Ryuki?" I asked the air quietly. Thunder and lightning clashed overhead and rain came down in pounding sheets. I gave a humorless chuckle. Was that my answer?

I stood up and I could've sworn I heard her laugh and an image of her dancing in the rain entered my mind. She was happier now, free of pain, but at the same time I think she's crying. Crying for us. We're all probably making her sad by the way we're acting. She doesn't want us to be sad, she wants us to live life to the fullest and enjoy it.

_ "Believe me when I say this, I'd do anything to take your pain away. It's why I became a medic. To help people. Especially to help them smile when they feel like they can't. I will always help you."_

I looked up at the sky and sighed again. Being happy without the one person that carries an aura of kindness can make living hard.

"We need you Ryuki. God, how we need you."

* * *

**Reviews would be lovely as always!**

**This is an old piece from...'07? I believe? Well, it needed a bit of TLC so I rebuffed a bit, feeling nostalgic for the good Akatsuki days. I can't believe I wrote this in Kisame first-person, was I crazy? But I liked how it turned out, so, oh well!**

** I may even write a bonus one shot with Ryuki and Deidara, the worst patient ever. Who knows?**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed, and to those who enjoyed it the first time around, I hope you love it even more!]**

**Thanks!**


	2. NOTE

**R****a****N****d****O****m****!****!****!!**

Would you guys like me to do a Back story on "Our Princess"?

A reviewer asked me to and I started to think...hmm, it could work....

So what do YOU think? because I don't want to add on if no one's going to care, ya' dig? I kid I kid.


End file.
